


heartstrings [missing scenes]

by peaktotheocean



Series: heartstrings [2]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, Gift Giving, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peaktotheocean/pseuds/peaktotheocean
Summary: A heavy-handed Destiny deems Geralt of Rivia slow on the uptake & Ciri unclaimed as a result. However, the White Wolf wasn’t the only Witcher who claimed Law of Surprise in Cintra. By the time Jaskier follows the tugging of his heart back to the kingdom, Ciri is eagerly awaiting both of her fathers.Short scenes from 'heartstrings' that I couldn't find the right place for in the main story.
Relationships: Eskel/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: heartstrings [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879474
Comments: 14
Kudos: 260





	1. making a bed

**Author's Note:**

> I have a few missing scenes & alternate ways certain scenes could have gone that I'll drop here. If you have anything you'd like to see from the heartstrings universe, please let me know and I'll try to work through some prompts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eskel's sleeping arrangements upon first arriving

"I can sleep out here. I have bedroll," Eskel told Jaskier in a quiet voice. It was late and Ciri had been asleep on him for the better part of an hour. Eskel felt like he had just gone ten rounds with a monster he was too exhausted to even name. Still, he was awake. He wanted to know more about Ciri, about Jaskier, their lives here. He knew he wasn't going anywhere. They had time but still, he had been missing so much. If only he had followed his heart a little faster, this wouldn't be their first day together.

"Eskel." Jaskier sounded like a teacher tutting at a student and Eskel looked up at him. "We're going to raise a child together. We can share a bed for a little while," he said gently. "If you're uncomfortable with it, that's fine but we'll figure out something better for long term."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not just going to let you sleep on the floor, darling."

_Darling._

Eskel couldn't remember if he had ever been called _darling_ before. Certainly not, or at least, never like this. With someone who wanted nothing nefarious from him.

It took three days for Eskel to figure out what Jaskier meant. Not by his own merits though, unfortunately, he thought. The first night they did try sharing a bed but Eskel was so still and didn't sleep the whole night. He couldn't. 

Jaskier had offered him such a vulnerability. Eskel felt ill. What if he accidentally bumped him in the night or, well, Witcher nightmares were rare but he couldn't risk hurting Jaskier. He wasn't quite comfortable yet in the house to let his guard down in any sense. He wanted to be the Da they had both been waiting for.

The second and third nights were spent on his bedroll. Which was fine, truly. Besides being a potential trip-hazard, he woke up both times with Ciri snuggled against him as the early morning sun came through the windows, Jaskier watching with soft eyes as he sipped on morning tea. When Jaskier suggested fresh meat for that night's meal, Eskel jumped at the chance to make himself useful. He had suspected nothing from the bard, which if he ever relayed the story to his brothers or Vesemir, he wouldn't mention. 

When he returned with a deer, there was a large flat pallet with stuffed pillows against the far wall of their front room. With pillows lining the edges where it met the walls, Eskel supposed it could be mistaken for a sofa. A wide, sturdy, Witcher-length sofa.

Eskel's voice was low and he tried to conceal his...he wasn't _hurt_ but he felt as though he was an inconvenience. Jaskier and Ciri already had a home they had made together. He wanted to slot in without uprooting something even as simple as their furniture layout. 

"I would have been fine," is what he settled on when Jaskier noticed him looking at the piece and knew it warranted a reaction. "I did not need a bed."

"It's not a bed, it's called a couch," Jaskier corrected him gently. "And if it just _happens_ to also be Witcher-sized then that is a coincidence." He seemed awfully proud of himself and Eskel would have been proud too but he wasn't sure when Jaskier had accomplished all this. He smelt the faint presence of other people but it was fading quickly. The town carpenter, perhaps the one apprentice Jaskier had introduced him to the previous day in the village.

Not only had the townspeople been friendly with Jaskier but they had no negative comments towards Eskel's presence. Jaskier had introduced him to many villagers.

 _This is Eskel, Ciri's Da. Yes, we've been waiting a while, I know, but his job is so important, you know? We're so proud of him._

Perhaps it was Ciri on his shoulders that made Eskel seemed less threatening but even then, he was spoken to so warmly. Jaskier had been given an extra sweet bun for him at no charge as a welcome. Jaskier and Ciri were so...loved by the town and Eskel had been folded into that respect immediately. 

“Jaskier,” Eskel growled.

“Eskel,” Jaskier imitated him, grumble and all and Eskel straightened out. He wasn't sure if anyone, outside his own brothers, had ever taunted him before. Certainly not a jest with such affection. "I will not have the other father of my daughter sleeping on a bedroll for the next decade or two. Absolutely not. We will build you a room extension when we have the money and time but for now, you still do not sleep on the floor. I won't allow it."

"But--" 

Jaskier interrupted him. "Darling," he said, with a gentle firmness that Eskel couldn't look away from. "I want to do this for you. I know you _could_ sleep on the ground but you shouldn't have to. I want you to be comfortable here. This is your home."

"Jaskier," Eskel said, his voice quieter, not knowing what to say, how to express his gratitude for such thoughtfulness.

"Eskel," there was the imitation again and this time Eskel laughed at it, feeling accomplished when the reaction had Jaskier smiling at him.

“Da, supper,” Ciri demanded seriously, executing a very neat pounce from the floor onto Eskel's side, where he caught her as though he had been doing it for years. And that was that. The conversation was apparently over. Eskel had a comfortable place to sleep, and as he'd find out after supper, a large cupboard and chest in Jaskier's room to keep his things. Like Jaskier said, this was his home.


	2. nerves & honesty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eskel frets, early on

  
"I've got another contract," Eskel announced. Just to Jaskier, as Ciri was outside with Scorpion, but still, it felt like a grand proclamation. "I have to leave rather soon."

"Ah, well, we'll pack together. I'll make a few extra hand pies for your travels. How far is this one?"

"Together?" Eskel asked, tilting his head at Jaskier who already had two large packs and one small, Ciri-sized one out o the table. 

"Next town over to the east of us is having a festival in a few days time," Jaskier told him. "It's not even a morning's journey. We'll be back by bedtime the same evening. It's become somewhat of a tradition and I was rather hoping..." he trailed off, noticing Eskel had stopped moving all together. 

He waited just a moment before speaking again. “Talk to me, please,” Jaskier asked hopefully. 

Eskel hated when Jaskier smelled like this, nervous and unsure. It was so rare but it often happened while waiting for Eskel to speak. He knew it was the result of his brother’s actions having had an unfortunate impact of the bard. 

“Safe?” Was all he was able to get out and only because Jaskier was looking at him. He couldn't find it in himself to form a full sentence.

“We’ll be safe," He promised, eyes softening a bit. "We travel a few times a year, I promise. Never far and for long but I don't want Ciri to grow up without seeing the world, you know? I can take care of us,” he added, wiggling his boot where Eskel knew he kept a dagger. 

Eskel understood that. He wasn't there yet where he really understood it but he managed to grasp the importance of it. The more confident Ciri was about the world outside their cottage and village, the less naive she'd be if something were to ever happen to the two of them. Keeping her in a cage not unlike Cintra would have provided wouldn't do for any child, let alone their lion cub. Still, Eskel had been with them such a short time. The idea of having them out of his sight while he was on contract was worrisome enough, let alone knowing they wouldn't even be safe in their home? 

“Would you uhh...like us to wait?” Jaskier offered. It wasn't given out of nerves but kindness. Jaskier couldn't see what was going on in Eskel's mind but he was willing and attempting to ease it regardless. 

Eskel knew the offer for what it was but he didn’t want Jaskier to sacrifice something like this. He knew certain beings needed freedoms, bards and children being two at the top of the list. He shook his head. “Can I meet you there? Once I’m done? We can get a room at an inn if it's too late.”

Jaskier’s expression cleared up immediately, same as his scent. “I insist on it. Ciri would love that.”

Eskel knew he likely took it as Eskel not wanting to feel left out as opposed to the Witcher’s numbing fear that something would happen to them as they traveled. Truthfully, it was both but Eskel was chiefly concerned about the latter. He had a new goal then: quickly as possible kill whatever creature was wrecking havoc on a nearby ranch and then use the gained time to meet with his family earlier than planned, perhaps even on the road. 

And when he did just that, Ciri's shout of excitement that shook the trees around them was as gratifying as it was knee-shaking.

"You nervous Witcher," Jaskier said with such affection that Eskel knew he had been caught. "I half expected you to show up before we even left the house."

Eskel busied himself with lifting Ciri onto Scorpion and keeping hold of the reins himself. He wasn't sure how to respond. Honesty perhaps? He had heard Jaskier reaching Ciri about the importance of honesty when she was nervous or fearful. Certainly Eskel had been both this week.

"I was...worried," he admitted quietly. Jaskier took Eskel hand in his and brought it up to his mouth to kiss the back of it.

"I know, dear. Witchers are many things but subtle is not one of them. Next time tell me. We'll wait."

"You should not have to wait. I know you've traveled before with Ciri. And without her. It is not my..." Eskel searched for words and wished he been able to sleep the night before. Honesty was exhausting. "It is not my intention to make you out as a man who cannot care for himself and his child."

Jaskier blinked at him and Eskel felt a pressure squeezing his hand. Then Jaskier smiled at him. "You were listening when I was talking to Ciri, weren't you?"

"I want to be honest with you. I am trying," Eskel insisted, just short of frantic and Jaskier made a soothing noise that Eskel had only heard him use on Ciri and small animals before.

"I wasn't making fun, I promise. It means so much to me. You're setting such a good example for our daughter," Jaskier told him honestly. Eskel's heart pounded at the praise. Such a sentiment he had never felt like he had earned before with just his words and honesty. "I appreciate you trying and I know that was hard. Besides, _you've_ never traveled with me. Not that I hope you get the chance to see me in any kind of action but if you'd like, we can spar once we're home. I'll have you know I got your brother on his back quite a few times."

It mattered not that Jaskier had mentioned Geralt even in passing because Eskel's mouth had gone dry at Jaskier's own honesty. He had not been lying when he said he had bested the other Witcher in sparring and the thought of Jaskier doing that to Eskel was...appealing. Very appealing. 

"That-- that sounds good," he managed to get out. "I'll learn." He tried not to whine when Jaskier let go of his hand and moved to check on Ciri and Scorpion. He watched his little family get ahead of him and let his eyes check the trees around the path for any potential danger. Nothing as of yet in the daylight. Eskel took a breath to fortify himself and then sped to catch up, eagerly anticipating what he had ahead of him in the coming days.


	3. birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten is a big number

"Happy birthday, dearest." Jaskier held her close and kissed the top of her head. "We are so proud of you."

"Ten is a big age," Eskel told her seriously, coming around the other side to complete the family embrace. 

"Is it?" Ciri asked, eyes wide as though she was younger than her years. She was far from innocent with one father being a Witcher and an aunt teaching her magic but still, she was their daughter. She was so loved and protected and in a way, that granted her a certain amount of naivety. 

Jaskier and Eskel exchanged cheeky looks. "Your Auntie Yen said once you turned ten, she could teach you how to portal."

Ciri's breath caught. "And you agreed?" She asked Jaskier eagerly, knowing full well who made the final decisions in the family. 

Jaskier just laughed and held onto her hands. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't....know. I’m calculating.” Eskel bit back a grin. She loved that word and used it often. 

"The world is rather wide, isn't it, darling?" Jaskier laughed as his daughter's head leaned against his shoulder. "Perhaps your Da can offer some suggestions and you can choose from them?"

Eskel winked at Jaskier. "Well, there's May's shop for some birthday sweet bread. Perhaps down the cliff to the sea, you could tell the turtles how old you are," he said knowingly. 

Ciri's nose wrinkled and she pouted, "Da, those are so close."

"Well..." Eskel looked at Jaskier who nodded at him. "We could go visit your grandfather."

Ciri gasped with excitement. "Really? Kaer Morhen?" She had heard her uncles talk of the Witcher fortress but they had yet to go visit.

"Well, he's at the base of the mountain right now," Eskel explained. "He doesn't just stay at the keep. Your grandfather is a wanderer, like yours uncles and I." He looked at Jaskier again who was gazing lovingly at their daughter. "And we might have told him we were going to give you the option. He won't be offended if you want to try somewhere closer but he said he knew you'd be up for a challenge..." Eskel trailed off and held back a smile as Ciri perked up, a determined look on her face. They all knew Ciri so well.

"Grandfather is my favorite," Ciri declared and Jaskier mockingly held his hands against his heart.

"Oh, I see how it is. So you don't want to take the packed picnic your Da and I spent _all_ morning on?" More like fifteen minutes and more like Eskel watched Jaskier pack a basket with Ciri and Vesemir's favorites. 

Ciri's eyes lit up. "Oh thank you, Papa!"

"Yennefer will be here at noon. Plenty of time to get your chores done."

"Da! It's my birthday,” she pouted.

"Is it? I hadn't a clue!" Even at ten, she wasn't too old for Eskel to swing up on his shoulders, giggling madly as her gangly legs kicked at him. No matter how much they fed her, she was a bottomless pit and growing stick. "To the chickens, birthday princess!"


	4. waiting for a witcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jaskier & ciri waited for a witcher for a long time, and the village waited with them

Ciri's nightmares ebbed and flowed depending on many things. Never just one that Jaskier caught grasp onto and anticipate. It was as though there was a separate outlying force that neither of them saw that dictated whether his daughter would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. 

"Papa!" She sobbed as Jaskier tried to gather her and the blankets close around him, resigning himself to another sleepless night. "Where's Da?" She asked, voice was earnest that Jaskier wondered if he had forgotten another man in the house. As if any moment the man from her dreams who Ciri called Da would come walking through her bedroom door to comfort them both. 

"I don't know, my darling. I'm so sorry." Jaskier held her close, fingers threading through her hair, soothing her as she fell back into a fitful sleep. 

He put his sweet girl in her bed and then let himself slide down to the floor outside her room, bracing himself before the tears came. 

He cried for his daughter, who just wanted her Da. 

He cried for himself, wishing he could do something, anything to help. 

He cried for whatever would happen when Geralt finally showed up.

  
••••••••••••••••••••

  
"Her father? Well, he's a Witcher, yes. He'll be coming to us soon," Jaskier informed the captivated cobbler's apprentice. He wasn't surprised at the question but certainly the boldness of it this early in the morning was unexpected. He felt Ciri's grip on the fabric of his pants.

With Ciri's wide eyes looking up at him, he felt the need to defend her absentee father. It wasn't the first time a villager had stopped to inquire after the single father who had taken up residence in the cottage outside of time. And just because Geralt had left Jaskier, that didn't mean all Witchers were bad. They protected people. He wasn't going to turn his back on all of them just because one left him heartbroken years ago.

"A Witcher? How'd you get involved with that lot?"

"Ah, I was a bard, you see," Jaskier said quickly, as though that answered the whole question just by itself. "Or I am bard," he added. "From Oxenfurt. Who has better stories of monsters and heroics than Witchers? Go right to the source you know."

That at least seemed to be a little more convincing. The woman's face softened and now she looked at him with a romantic expression.

"Oh, dear. You must miss him terribly. All by yourself with that young girl." Ah there it was, Jaskier could see where that was going and he placed his hand on Ciri's hand, aiming to steer her away from this place as soon as possible.

Did he miss Geralt? Jaskier hadn't thought about that if he was being honest. He was more worried about how he seemed to dread Geralt's eventual arrival. He missed a companion, certainly considering that his housemate's attempts to help with the dishes mostly ended up in broken crockery. 

"Yes, we...we miss him. I know he said it might be some time but still."

  
••••••••••••••••••••

  
“They think you’re her father,” Jaskier explained poorly.

Eskel straightened up. “I _am_ her father.” 

Jaskier smiled at him, tilting his head a bit. Eskel _was_ her father. And he was doing quite a job of it considering the pleased look at Ciri's face every time she remembered her house now held two dads. “Right, of course. I just meant, they think we are together. That you’re my husband. My partner.”

“Oh?”

Jaskier hastened to explain, “There are only so many places a single father can go before...”

“Before people start throwing themselves at you?" Eskel asked but regretted it when he saw the uncomfortable look on Jaskier's face.

“Not quite like that but...the village had a lot of questions and I only had one answer that I knew of.”

“That a Witcher was coming.” Eskel understood. Jaskier had so little to cling on. For all Ciri asked for her Da and about Witchers, she had never really given a description of the one from her dreams. "Big" and "Tall" could apply to many Witchers. She had insisted Eskel was the one from her dreams and poked at the spikes on his shoulder armor with glee, as though she had wanting to do it for years. 

“I didn’t mention any names," Jaskier kept rambling." I didn’t know if they already knew of Geralt or his uhh _older_ reputation," he said delicately. 

“You could have found someone. Said it was a platonic partnership.”

“I couldn’t have though,” Jaskier said quietly. Anytime he even thought about it, it felt wrong, nauseating. That’s if an evening with an amenable bed partner even got to that point. More often than not, someone would point out flirtations or glances that Jaskier hadn’t noticed at all. 

Eskel watched Jaskier trail off and they both brought their hands over their respective hearts at the same time.

  
••••••••••••••••••••

  
It hadn't taken much convincing at all for Ciri and Jaskier to pull Eskel down to the festival. He hadn't attended one yet and though he knew that the town was aware of a Witcher taking residence in the family's cabin, he hadn't really made himself known.

Jaskier warned him the villagers weren't shy and, to the best of his knowledge, hadn't seemed prejudice against Witchers. Eskel was willing to bet that was an understatement judging by the way a woman who introduced herself as Patricia, the tanner's wife, sat down across from him as he watched Jaskier and Ciri do a complicated dance in the town square with many other children and young parents.

"You made that boy wait for you for so long. We was worried you'd never come."

"That wasn't an option," Eskel promised and caught Jaskier's eye, shaking his head. He could handle a villager. Jaskier smiled brightly at him and swung Ciri up into her arms for the next turn of the dance. They circled around the bonfire, once, twice, and Eskel caught the highlights of Jaskier's hair illuminated by the flames and heard Ciri's giggle above the music.

"Good thing too because I was about to set him up with my cousin," Patricia threatened, waving her spoon in the air and not being bothered when flecks of stew flew off of it.

Eskel's chest tightened at the thought of Jaskier with another man. Jaskier's teasing expression as he coaxed an unknown man out on the dance floor and held him close. Ciri calling someone else Da. It was...unacceptable.

The woman continued as though she hadn’t noticed Eskel’s inner turmoil. “He seemed too taken with you though. We thought he was just upset at being by himself but then you got here and well, anyone can see no one would have made him happy in your stead.”

Something warmed inside Eskel at that. He watched Jaskier set Ciri down and head over to their table, evidently deciding Eskel needed a rescue. 

"Darling!" Jaskier's eyes were bright. He kissed Eskel on the cheek. "Dance with me?"

Eskel looked over at Patricia who was smiling very knowingly at the two of them. Normally, it would bother him. Villagers staring at him, his scars, his charges, his life. But there was no fear or disgust radiating off of Patricia, or anyone in their immediate vicinity. He'd take it just as he took Ciri and Jaskier, as a blessing. 

He took Jaskier's hand in his and brought it up to his lips for a short kiss. "Of course.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts can be left in comments or sent via tumblr [same username]


End file.
